Search

Late last month, Dan Crosier finished the illustrations through page twenty-four, completing the first issue. Issue one of our three-issue book was then sent to Patrick Brosseau for lettering. I worked with our layout guru and hops-connoisseur, Muana Fanai on layout and print prep. The variant cover by Joe Triscari worked incredibly well, check it out:

Issue 1 will be available in extremely limited quantities and for sale at Denver Comic Con http://denvercomiccon.com/ (June 13-15) and also at the Caustic Soda/Show Devils launch party at Three Kings Tavern, Sat. June 14 (more info on that soon), online at the CS Shop and at San Diego Comic Con.

You can purchase a copy in the CS Store, COMING SOON.

Below you will find a link to a Spotify playlist that captures the scope of Part 1 in sound. Songs by The Stooges, Joy Division, Talking Heads, Wire, Max Richter, Wu Tang, MC5, Baby Huey and more have been part of my ongoing, working soundtrack and inspiration for Caustic Soda.

We’d like to formerly introduce and welcome veteran comic letterer, Patrick Brosseau to the Caustic Soda team. Patrick Brosseau–pronounced “Brah-sew”–likes beer, doesn’t wear pants and will be lending his considerable talents and expertise to our book. Pat was a senior letterer at DC and has an impressive resume of work including Wolverine, AliensvsPredator, Hellboy, Batman & Robin and Doom Patrol, to name a few. You can check out his portfolio at http://www.coroflot.com/droog811

We’ve been waiting to share this news (and shared it with our Kickstarter backers late last year) and are proud to have him aboard.

Meanwhile, in between launching Distortions Unlimited 2, Horrorhouse Fest and Mile High Horror Film Fest, Dan is cranking out pages weekly and the book is shaping up nicely.

The Kickstarter campaign for Caustic Soda has launched. You can participate in this creative endeavor by contributing and receiving the fantastic rewards we have lined up, including artwork from Daniel Crosier, Sonny Kay, BobRob Medina and Moonlight Speed.

This Graphic Wednesday is brought to you by Father’s Day! (My second favorite day of the year next to Halloween)

Today we’re looking at creator Kazuo Koike and artist, Goseki Kojima’s epic manga, Lone Wolf and Cub. Volume 1 of the (Darkhorse) Omnibus encompasses nearly 700 pages of the story of a kill-for-hire Ronin, Ogami Ittō, a former disgraced shogunate executioner and his three-year-old son Daigorō on a path of meifumadō “road to hell,” a cursed journey of vengeance to clear his name and destroy the Yagyu clan. The exquisitely detailed panels and writing vibrate with energy as the assassin and his progeny journey through feudal Japan.

The manga was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama.

Check out the Baby Cart to Hades kill count from the third film installment. Dig that funky 70’s grindhouse soundtrack!

Wakayama also had a memorable part as Sugai, the antagonist/anti-hero in Ridley Scott’s 1989 film, Black Rain. The actor’s monologue from the film is worth an entire viewing, at the least to hear him reproach Michael “Cunning” Douglas’s character. “I was 10 when the B-29 came. My family lived underground for three days. We when came up the city was gone. Then the heat brought rain. Black rain. You made the rain black, and shoved your values down our throats. We forgot who we were. You created Sato and thousands like him. I’m paying you back.”

You can watch Lone Wolf and Cub on Netflix and Zatoichi “the blind swordsman” also with Wakayama on Hulu. Most importantly, you can pick up the Omnibus manga from your local comic book shop (Villainous Lair if you happen to reside in Normal Heights/Kensington/University Heights in San Diego). If they don’t have it, they’ll order it.